HELP first fertile egg, dont know what do do with infertile one!

[Darthrain1990]

So my Male and female have been together 3 years and I just candled their first fertile egg, the other one is not, and it's been cracked by mom, what should I do? Should I throw it out so she focuses one the fertile one or leave it in the nest? Please help I have never done this before and am freaking out!

 

[Owlet]

First; why do you want babies?

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to the forum and experienced members will offer advice. I would remove the cracked egg so it doesn't rot. Hang in there!

 

[ChristaNL]

Yup... what Laura said: a cracked egg will start to rot and that gunk will get everywhere and on anyone!
Just chuck it!


The parents would do it themselves if they could get enough grip on it, trust me.

 

[SilleIN]

If the cracked eggs insides gets on the outside of the fertile egg, it might suffocate the fertile egg (the little chick breathes through tiny holes in the shell), so remove the cracked egg as soon as possible

 

[EllenD]

As already stated above, you should always remove and throw-out any eggs that are cracked/broken/crushed because even if they are fertile they are not "viable" and will not continue to develop, and in-addition they become nothing but bacterial cesspools and can make your birds sick. So any eggs you see that are cracked/crushed-in/broken etc. need to be immediately removed and thrown-out, regardless of whether they are fertile or not. As already mentioned, the parents would do the same thing, and would not lay on the broken eggs anyway, because they know they aren't viable.

As far as "candling" eggs to check fertility, always keep in-mind that you shouldn't assume that an egg is not fertile simply because you don't see any veins within the first week or two of it being laid. Some eggs are extremely easy to candle and see, some eggs develop very quickly, and some are just the opposite. So unless an egg is broken/cracked, I highly suggest always leaving ALL eggs laid in a clutch alone until each egg is at least 31 days old. That will ensure that they are definitely not fertile, or if they are fertile but haven't hatched at that age, then you'll know that they aren't viable. And if mom/dad kicks and egg out of the nest or is purposely not laying on an egg, it's typically because they know it's not viable. Just don't get anxious with the eggs and let them in the nest until they each hit the age where it's impossible for them to hatch.

***I'm not going to drill you about why you're breeding your birds, that's your business. However, I do hope that you have all of the equipment/supplies on-hand that you will need, and that you know hand-feeding techniques, and you know both what temperature range the formula must always be in, as well as what ambient temperature the chicks must be housed in at all times depending on their age and at what-feathering they have; also that you know the hand-feeding schedule depending on what age the chicks are, as it changes rapidly, along with amounts...Also that you know about checking their crops for signs of proper feeding, digestions, signs of crop-stasis, etc. Even if you are planning for the parents to fully feed/incubate/raise the chicks, if you're allowing eggs to develop and chicks to hatch, you must ALWAYS be prepared to have to take-over for the parents at any time, and that includes having to hand-feed the chicks every 2-3 hours for the first 3 weeks of life, and that includes overnight, as they must eat every 2-3 hours until they are at least 3-4 weeks old, when they can finally go 6 hours overnight without eating...Lots of setting your alarm and cat-naps. Parent-birds reject chicks for a number of reasons, they also often become aggressive with chicks, even trying to injure/kill them, and that means you have to remove the chick and take-over. Also, god forbid the mother dies, which happens quite often, then you have to take-over. There are any number of reasons why this can happen...I don't know what your level of experience hand-raising/hand-feeding baby birds is, but always be sure to ask any and all questions you might have, don't ever just assume that something is correct or guess about anything.

 

[Darthrain1990]

Thank you, I removed the cracked egg, anyone know how long the eggs take to hatch or a good nest box I can get for them? Right now they are in a large cardboard box, now that there is a fertile egg I want to move them to a real nest box. Also I think my female may have started ucki g her feathers because she doesnt have a good nest box, and my summoner is load and stressing her out. I was told to feed the parents egg food? Any other tips or suggestions very welcome!!!

 

[ChristaNL]

Calm down

It would be easier if you added the type of bird to your post
(you probably told us in the introduction, but we have so many people here with even more birds...it is hard to keep track of them all)

All birds have different times the eggs will hatch etc... so... what type of parrot are we talking about?

Plucking the feathers (chest/belly) is to make sure the eggs get warmed better (close to the skin) - so that is normal.

Birds will sometimes breed in almost anything (and sometimes nothing at all)- so if she is depositing eggs in the cardboardbox...thats fine! Just leave her to it.

Idealy you would be feeding your birds extra rich food before they started mating& laying eggs (making eggs costs the mother a lot of energie, nutrition and calcium).
So yes.. eggfood is usefull to feed long before the eggs hatch.

 

[itzjbean]

Lots of great advice given so far.

If you don't know the incubation period, however, it means you need to do more research!! I can't stress enough how hard it is to watch a chick die if you don't know how to step in when parents abandon them, stop feeding them or try to mutilate them. Without the proper experience I fear you could end up in a bad situation and heartbreak all around.

You need a proper nestbox and proper material for inside, like bedding. This is pretty basic stuff, so again I really hope you do more research, get proper supplies and get ready for some babies to need your help!

 

[EllenD]

Itzjbean is correct, without a proper nestbox with bedding in the bottom of it, you will end-up with a bunch of splayed-leg chicks. So you need to go to the pet shop and buy a wooden nest box that is large enough for an Eclectus and babies to be inside, and then buy some bedding, such as Care-Fresh, the paper bedding, and put a layer in the bottom...They will toss the bedding outside of nestbox, that's normal, just add more. If the babies are standing/walking on a bare floor they will develop splay-legs, the bedding keeps their legs together while they grow and develop.

I'm assuming this is an Eclectus, so the incubation period for the eggs is around 28 days I believe, but remember that all the eggs are different ages (usually laid a day or two apart), so it's 28 days from the time each, individual egg is laid.

It's normal for the mother to pluck her feathers out to both line the nest and to make her belly/chest bare to place against the eggs...it's not from stress at all, it's normal.

Please do a lot more research, as you may very well have to take-over hand-feeding the babies if mom dies, if mom/dad kick the babies out of the nestbox, if they refuse to feed them, if they start plucking them/hurting them, etc. You need to have all necessary, non-optional equipment on-hand BEFORE any eggs hatch. And then you'll need to check on the babies crops to make sure that they are being fed, and check them multiple times a day. You need:

-Commercial baby bird hand-feeding formula (Kaytee, Roudybush are the two most common)
-Candy/Cooking Thermometer with a metal probe to keep in the formula while feeding the babies (formula must ALWAYS be between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F, not one degree cooler, not one degree hotter)
-Oral Syringe
-Potentially be ready to make a homemade Brooder if the babies are kicked out of the nestbox, as they must be kept at 95 degrees F at all times before they grow-in all their down feathers, and then between 80-85 degrees F at all times once they grow-in their down but before their outer feathers fully grow-in (if they are not kept at these temps they can die from exposure, as they cannot regulate their own body temps before getting their down/feathers, and also just the same as what can happen if the formula is too cold, if their ambient temperature is too cold they will quickly develop a GI/Crop Yeast/Fungal infection, Crop-Stasis, and death...So to make a homemade Brooder you need an ambient temperature you can place in the back of a cardboard box or glass aquarium, an electric heating-pad that you can adjust the heat on, and the same bedding

***This is not optional stuff, and you must be able to take-over hand-feeding the babies at a moment's notice or they will die. During the first 2-3 weeks they have to be fed every 2-3 hours, including overnight. Only at 4 weeks old can they go 6-8 hours overnight without eating. So it's a big deal and a pain in the butt. Set your alarm and wake-up every 2-3 hours. It's rough. But you always have to be ready to take-over or the chicks will die...Also, please read-up on "Proper baby bird hand-feeding technique", as it is extremely easy to Aspirate formula into their lungs if you don't know how to hand-feed them with an oral syringe, and it can kill them instantly, or at the very least cause Aspiration Pneumonia. There is a proper technique, a correct side of the beak to go in at, a correct side to angle towards, you have to learn about their feeding-response, etc. So please prepare yourself...